Temperature inversion are cool. No matter how old you are, there is always a childish delight about standing above the clouds whilst everyone is sat in the drizzle below. On top of that,they just look beautiful. To stand on one of many islands of land poking out above a silver sea of drifting cloud under a bright shining sun and soaking up that silent, ethereal ambiance is a moment never forgotten.
For those of us living in/ by the Peak District, our beautiful land unfortunately isn't the best place for witnessing inversions. As a rule our hills just aren't high enough to produce views similar to those you see of snow-capped Scottish peaks poking out above the cloud. Yet during the autumn and winter we regularly get fog filled valleys with the high moors rising above, making a fine background to a day pottering about. With a bit of luck and knowledge you can go out and see some beautiful scenes.
With this theme, here are a selection of photos and musings about days of sunshine and inversions in the Peak District taken over the last 7 years or so.
Oct 2015- Lose Hill rising above the early morning fog. As a rule, the best time to see inversions is around sunrise on a cold clear morning during the autumn and winter. Very rarely do you see them well in the higher areas such as the Upper Derwent and Kinder and Bleaklow as the cloud always tend to sink down the valleys very quickly. Instead, the best places to go to are the mid level hills such as Mam Tor and Lose Hill in the Hope Valley, or the Eastern Edges from Stanage South to Baslow Edge which retain it much better. Quite frequently on such mornings the Derwent and Hope valleys fill with a river of cloud like a ghostly glacier, sometimes lingering well into the afternoon. You'll be rewarded well!
Oct 2015- Early morning fog over the Hope Valley. The classic inversion in the Peak District seen at its best. That cliched image adorning every postcard and calendar of the area- of Lose Hill poking out of a mist covered Hope Valley from Mam Tor- is well worth seeking out. Get a calm, cool autumnal morning and see the sun rise out of the cloud, bathing Mam Tor's cliffs in a golden light. Its the sort of thing that leaves you grinning from ear to ear all the way until sunset.
Dec 2010- Winter sunshine above the cloud on Mam Tor. One of those winter afternoons you never forget. A few hours doing the easy winter grade 1's and 2's on Mam Tor, gleefully avoiding the crowds in the gully, nicely wrapped off with a chill above the clouds among the skiers and families sledging.
Nov 2014- Autumn bliss on Kinder Scout's western edges. The perfect reward after a very drunken conversation with my friend Kier that led to a soaking wet (but great fun) climb up the Kinder Downfall a week later. Usually during in inversions the cloud tends to rise and flow over the western edges of Kinder, with the more eastern parts of the plateau better for seeing them (such as around Blackden Clough or Grindsbrook. Yet on this occasion just a small section of the western edge around Sandy Hays remained cloud free, giving spectacular views.
Feb 2010- a classic inversion over Grindsbrook, Kinder Scout. One of those rare days you dream of experiencing. In my 138 visits to Kinder (with 84 to the summit), only once have I found conditions like this. After a foggy morning the grey ceiling gradually got lighter and lighter until eventually the cloud rolled back and floated on the edges of the plateau. Suddenly a new world was revealed; bright warm sunshine with the plateau's slopes falling away to an expanse of cloud stretching across the entirety of Derbyshire. Only Kinder and Bleaklow poked out of it. I sat about fairly delighted about it, then spent several hours pottering about until sunset taking it all in. Some days you just don't forget.
October 2008- A river of cloud over the Derwent Valley from Higgar Tor. The Eastern Edges from Stanage South to Baslow Edge are by far the best places in the area for seeing cool scenes like this. Normally the fog tends to sink down the valley leaving the Upper Derwent around Back Tor and Bleaklow clear, whilst it can last all day lower down.
2nd November 2015- a Broken Spectre from Fulwood Lane. Broken Spectres are pretty awesome but require a bit of luck to see (you need the sun behind you and the cloud directly in front or below). Still, waving at your shadow on a cloud with nice halo has a childish delight to it... Here I'd spent an hour on Rud Hill watching a bank of fog drift over Sheffield from the SE. I waited and as soon as it reached the head of the Porter Valley, seized the opportunity and ran back down to get this photo.
2nd November 2015- living the autumn dream on Rud Hill.
2nd November 2015- Afternoon fog blanketing Sheffield from Rud Hill. Some days you really do just get lucky. I'd spent two hours watching as this fog drifted over Sheffield yet failed to rise over the Pennines above, instead lapping on the edges of the Porter and Sheaf valleys. Two idle hours just sitting there in the warm sun gazing out over the cloud. It was a day taken off work well spent. Sort of sums up a lot about getting out on the hill really- the more you get out, the more cool places you find and the more amazing moments like this you experience.
Right, that's all for this week. Coming up next Wednesday: a story about a very long sleep-deprived walk down the Eastern Edges involving being convinced White Edge smelt of seaweed and weirding out people on Crich Stand,..
Happy wandering!
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